


Trinity

by hizashi



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 03:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17256623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hizashi/pseuds/hizashi
Summary: Who ever said three's a crowd?A series about the relationship between Jinhwan, Bobby, and Hanbin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy new year! These were pretty much done, and I finally had a bit of time and motivation, so I figured I'd finish them up and post today. 
> 
> This is a Jinhwan/Bobby/Hanbin OT3 series based on some prompts. I started writing them ages ago, but I wasn't super satisfied with the results until now. Some lean more toward bobhwan/binhwan/double B than OT3, but they're all OT3 at their heart. I wrote these as a way to relax, so they're mostly just lighthearted fun, but the second story is a bit heavy. It talks about panic attacks/nightmares, and I feel like that's probably something I should warn for, so just fyi.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like Bobby might have finally caught on to the fact that he has, in effect, been banned from driving.

“Are you ready to go yet?”

Bobby’s whiny voice floats through the open bathroom door, and Jinhwan sniffs disapprovingly as he fusses with his hair. Hanbin sticks his head into the bathroom and then walks in with a sigh. “We’re just going to see his family.” Jinhwan meets Hanbin’s eyes in the mirror, and his brow furrows slightly. He’d make himself presentable even if they were just going across the hall to visit Donghyuk and Junhwe. “Five more minutes,” he says shortly as he sidles out of the way of Hanbin’s wandering hands. Hanbin’s arms drop to his sides, and he frowns a little; he’d been reaching for Jinhwan unconsciously, but now that he realizes what he’d been doing, he’s embarrassed. “All right,” he mumbles, red-faced, and he leaves the bathroom to join Bobby on the couch. 

When Jinhwan finally emerges from the bathroom and announces that he’s ready to go, Bobby leaps to his feet. “It’s about damn time!” he all but shouts. He pulls Hanbin off the couch and drags him outside while Jinhwan locks the door to their apartment. When he gets downstairs, he sees Bobby and Hanbin standing outside the driver’s side door to Jinhwan’s car. Jinhwan raises his eyebrows.

“Yo, gimme the keys, I’m driving,” Bobby says, holding out his hand.  
Jinhwan and Hanbin share a look. “I don’t think so,” Jinhwan says evenly. He reaches for the door, but Bobby blocks him.  
“Why not?” he demands. “We’re going to _my_ house.”  
“Well it’s _my_ car,” Jinhwan retorts. “Get out of the way. We’re already late.”  
Hanbin snickers. “And whose fault is that?”  
Jinhwan glares at him, and then at Bobby, who still hasn’t moved. “Seriously, Bobby, move.”  
“You let Hanbin drive,” Bobby says, and he’s frowning. “But you haven’t let me drive since you got the new car, and whenever me and Hanbin borrow it, he throws a hissy fit and won’t let me drive either.”  
“Ah, Bobby…”

When they’d still been driving around Jinhwan’s old car, which he’d inherited from his father, Jinhwan had let Bobby drive. But Bobby has a terrible sense of direction even with GPS (not to mention he decides he knows better half the time), and he speeds more frequently and goes faster than even Hanbin. Whenever Jinhwan had relinquished his keys or let Bobby be the designated driver, it had always ended in disaster: They’d taken at least an extra thirty minutes to get wherever they’d been going, and Jinhwan had feared for his life the entire time. Even Hanbin had stopped speeding as much after enough complaints from Jinhwan and four expensive speeding tickets, and eventually he had become the eternal designated driver because he doesn’t like drinking much anyway. So now that Jinhwan has a nicer, newer car, he usually entrusts it to Hanbin if he can’t or doesn’t want to drive. If Bobby starts complaining, Jinhwan’s stating that it’s his car is often enough to shut Bobby up. (And if it isn’t, Hanbin will give up the passenger seat so Bobby can control the music.) But it seems like Bobby might have finally caught on to the fact that he has, in effect, been banned from driving.

“You’re too reckless,” Jinhwan says without looking Bobby in the eye.  
Bobby’s face falls. “Aw, but… I’m not really…”  
“You are,” Hanbin quips. “Even for me. Now get in the back so we can go already.”  
Bobby’s expression grows hard. “Bobby—” Jinhwan starts to say, recognizing the danger of the situation, but Bobby throws open the back door and climbs in. Jinhwan scowls at Hanbin.  
“Great going, idiot.”  
“What?” whines Hanbin, oblivious.  
Jinhwan rolls his eyes. “Just get in.”

The atmosphere in the car is tense and awkward for the entire ride to Bobby’s parents’ house. Jinhwan keeps glancing at Bobby through the rearview mirror, and it seems like this is really upsetting him. They’re the last to arrive (as usual), so Jinhwan parks the car down the street. He grabs Hanbin’s arm as Hanbin starts opening the door, and then he swivels around to face Bobby. “Hey, wait.” Bobby had been scooting over to go out the door on the other side, but he stops at the sound of Jinhwan’s voice. Hanbin looks between the two of them and bites his lip.

“Bobby, what’s wrong?” Jinhwan asks.  
“Nothing. I’m already over it,” Bobby says, entirely unconvincingly. Jinhwan purses his lips.  
“Don’t lie to us. Especially to me.”  
At this Bobby looks at Jinhwan, and his cool expression softens somewhat. “Ah, sorry…” He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “I dunno, I guess I didn’t realize I was, I dunno, hurting you guys, I guess?”  
“You weren’t _hurting_ us,” Hanbin says, and Jinhwan turns to him and tries to communicate _don’t say anything stupid_ with his eyes. “But your shortcuts stop being funny after a while, and going as fast as you do on highways with construction freaked me out and made Jinhwan sick.”  
Bobby hangs his head, and Jinhwan wants to bang his own into the steering wheel. “Look, I’d just rather drive since it’s my car, and whenever I brought it up, you sort of took it as a joke, and since it’s not that big a deal—”  
“That’s ‘cause I thought you _were_ joking!” Bobby interjects.  
“Bobby, we love you, but it’s just better if you don’t drive,” Hanbin says in a flat voice, but his expression is apologetic.  
“All right,” Bobby says, holding up his hands in defeat. “All right, all right, I’ll get over it. Just give me a minute to feel sorry for myself for making two of the people I love most in the world so freaked out by my _driving_ of all things.”  
“Great, then let’s go in and fucking _eat,_ ” Hanbin says loudly, and he gets out of the car before Jinhwan can stop him.

Bobby and Jinhwan get out as well, and Bobby grabs Jinhwan’s arm when he comes around from the other side of the car. Jinhwan looks up at Bobby in surprise, but he can’t make out Bobby’s expression in the darkness. “Did I really make you sick?” Bobby asks. His voice is low and heavy, and it’s a tone Jinhwan doesn’t hear often. He sighs softly and turns toward Bobby, letting Bobby wrap his arms around Jinhwan and hold him tightly. Jinhwan slips a hand beneath Bobby’s sweater and rubs his thumb gently across the skin of Bobby’s back. “Yeah,” he admits. “All those curves, at that speed…” Bobby kisses the top of Jinhwan’s head, mumbling apologies. Jinhwan pulls himself from Bobby’s arms. “It’s not a big deal, really,” he soothes. “Hanbin’s driving is only marginally better anyway.” Bobby snorts and slings an arm around Jinhwan’s shoulders. They walk up the driveway together.

“It really isn’t a big deal,” Jinhwan says again as Bobby opens the front door. They’re greeted by warm laughter and the delicious smells of Christmas dinner. Bobby smiles down at him.  
“Hey, it’s fine, I finally get it.”  
“All right,” Jinhwan says.  
“Could be worse,” Bobby says, grinning, and he squeezes Jinhwan’s arm. “I could be as bad as Junhwe.”  
Jinhwan groans. “ _Shit,_ don’t even _joke_ about that.”

Afterward, Bobby doesn’t change his driving habits that much (Jinhwan doesn’t think Bobby will ever start trusting the GPS), but he does at least try to be more careful, so Jinhwan counts it as a win.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It breaks Bobby's heart that Hanbin suffers like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter with the nightmares/panic attacks, so if that might be upsetting to you, please skip this chapter. ♥

Bobby wakes up to screams coming from down the hall. A cold terror grips his heart as his sleepy brain struggles to both calm him down and assess the situation. The screaming has turned into shouts of _No!_ and _Stop!,_ and Bobby recognizes the voice as Hanbin’s. He swallows and rubs his eyes. It must be another nightmare. He rolls out of bed and peeks out of his room. There’s light coming from under the door to Jinhwan and Hanbin’s room. Jinhwan must be handling it, just like he always does. Bobby tiptoes down the hall and stands outside the door. He can hear Hanbin’s sobs and the soft murmur of Jinhwan’s voice. He leans against the wall and exhales slowly. It breaks his heart that Hanbin suffers like this.

He shuffles to the kitchen, pours two glasses of water, and waits. Fifteen minutes later Jinhwan drifts in. He has dark circles under his eyes, and his expression is clouded over. He seems surprised to see Bobby in the kitchen even though Bobby usually waits up for him to make sure Hanbin is okay (although Jinhwan doesn’t always leave the bedroom).

“Sorry,” Jinhwan says in a tired voice. He sits at the table and gratefully takes the cup of water that Bobby slides across to him.  
“Don’t be,” Bobby says immediately. “How is he?”  
“He’s all right, back asleep,” Jinhwan replies. “I’ll go back in in a minute.”  
“Yeah.” Bobby doesn’t know what else to say.  
Jinhwan drains his cup. “You should go back to bed.”

He puts his cup in the sink and gives Bobby’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze on his way out of the kitchen, but Bobby stays where he is for a long time.

*

“Hey, do you have a minute?”  
Bobby looks up from his calculus textbook at Jinhwan. “Yeah, what’s up?”  
Jinhwan drops beside him on the couch. “I have to go back home for a bit from tomorrow.”  
“Right,” Bobby says with a nod. There’s a wedding or something. But at Jinhwan’s nervous expression, Bobby’s stomach starts to prickle.  
“It’s going to be your first time with Hanbin without me,” Jinhwan says slowly.  
“Oh,” Bobby says, though it’s more of a breathy exhale.  
“He should be okay most nights,” Jinhwan says quickly. “And I’m going to call him every night, which helps, because it helped before the three of us were living together and he was on his own, but—”  
“Just tell me what I need to do,” Bobby interrupts. Jinhwan had been talking fast, babbling, really, in his nervousness, but a look of relief spreads across his face at Bobby’s words. Had he thought Bobby might not help? Bobby frowns slightly.  
“Thanks so much, Bobby. You don’t know how much this means to me. To us.”  
“Don’t mention it,” Bobby mumbles.  
“Okay, so here’s what you need to do…”

*

The first three of the six nights Jinhwan is away pass smoothly. Although Hanbin sleeps soundly through the night, Bobby tosses and turns because he’s so worried. But as the nights go by with no nightmares, Bobby starts to relax too. On the fourth night, he and Hanbin marathon several episodes of an anime together, stuffing themselves with junk food. It’s nice to have this time with Hanbin because between school and work, they don’t have a lot of quality alone time together. Late that night Hanbin stirs from where he’d drifted to sleep on Bobby’s shoulder, yawns hugely, and says they should probably both get to bed. “Yeah,” Bobby agrees. Neither of them bothers to clean up the living room because Jinhwan isn’t there to nag them, and then they head off to their rooms to sleep.

Bobby flops onto his bed, exhausted. It’s been a long week. But after what feels like only a minute of sleep, Bobby’s eyes snap open at the sound of screams. He feels the familiar fear squeezing his heart, his stomach clenching, and then his brain wakes up enough to remind him that it’s Hanbin and that Jinhwan isn’t home. “Hanbin,” Bobby mumbles hoarsely. “Shit, Hanbin—” He tries to untangle himself from his blankets as he tumbles from his bed, but he can’t get out of them and goes crashing to the floor. He hisses out a string of curses, but he ignores the pain in his knees and stumbles from his room and down the hall. He throws Hanbin’s door open and turns on the light. He’s blinded temporarily, but after his eyes have adjusted, his mind goes blank at what he sees. Hanbin is thrashing about in his bed, his screams punctuated by cries of _Stop! Please!_

Finally Bobby comes back to his senses and runs to the bed. He clambers onto it and tries to grab hold of Hanbin’s shoulders. It’s more difficult than he’d thought it would be, but eventually he’s able to pin Hanbin down. Hanbin’s arms are still flailing about, and he’s scratching Bobby’s arms. Bobby wonders briefly how someone as small as Jinhwan ever manages to hold Hanbin down. “Hanbin!” Bobby says firmly. “Hanbin!” He grips Hanbin’s shoulders tightly, applying pressure just like Jinhwan had told him, and after a moment Hanbin’s eyes fly open. But he still isn’t really awake. His eyes are wild, filled with terror, and even though he’s staring up at Bobby, there’s no recognition in his gaze. His whole body is tense. 

“Hanbin,” Bobby says in a low, gentle voice. “You’re okay, there’s no one here, you’re fine, they aren’t here…”

He presses his thumbs into Hanbin’s shoulders and moves them in slow circles. Gradually Hanbin’s breathing starts to return to normal, and his body relaxes. He closes his eyes and swallows hard, and then the tears start to come. “They were here,” he chokes out. “They were—they wouldn’t stop—” Bobby just keeps repeating that Hanbin is fine and no one else is here, doing everything that Jinhwan had told him to do, until Hanbin reaches up to pull Bobby down beside him. He rolls partially on top of Bobby and buries his face into Bobby’s shoulder. Bobby rubs Hanbin’s back, still mumbling the same things. He can feel his heart breaking. 

After what feels like an eternity, Hanbin finally stops crying. He shifts out of Bobby’s space a bit. 

“Sorry,” he croaks. Bobby shakes his head and runs his fingers through Hanbin’s hair.  
“No, Hanbin, you don’t have anything to be sorry about.”  
Hanbin gives him a watery smile. “Would you mind staying with me until I fall asleep again?”  
“That was already the plan.”

Hanbin chuckles and then snuggles back up to Bobby. He falls asleep soon after, but Bobby stays awake for a long time. He remembers that Jinhwan had called earlier but that Hanbin hadn’t picked up because they’d been watching TV. Bobby chews his lip and wonders if this had all been his fault.

*

Hanbin has another nightmare the next night, and it’s just as awful for Bobby as it had been the first time. He’s known Hanbin for a few years, but he’d only learned about the nightmares when he’d started living with Hanbin and Jinhwan a few months ago. He doesn’t know what had happened to Hanbin to make him have these nightmares, and neither Hanbin nor Jinhwan has ever said anything, so he’s never asked. But now he wants more than ever to bring the wrath of god down on whomever “they” are.

*

On the sixth night, Hanbin asks Bobby to sleep with him.

“Since I had two bad nights in a row, I think it’s better if someone’s there with me,” he explains to Bobby, a bit embarrassed.  
“Of course, man, whatever you need,” Bobby says right away. He’d do anything to make sure Hanbin is comfortable.  
Hanbin smiles weakly. “You’re really the best friend I could have ever asked for.”

*

Bobby wakes up to Hanbin’s rustling and the sound of voices. He rubs his eyes blearily and is surprised by the light’s being on. Then he notices Jinhwan sitting with Hanbin on the bed. They’re holding hands, and Jinhwan’s other hand is cupping Hanbin’s cheek, his thumb rubbing gently across it. His hand drops when he notices that Bobby had woken up, and then he smiles.

“Now isn’t this interesting?” he teases.  
Bobby holds his hands up. “Totally innocent.”  
Jinhwan reaches over to poke him. “Right.”

Bobby snorts and starts to get out of the bed.

“Wait,” Hanbin says. Bobby looks at him curiously.  
“Why don’t you stay with us tonight?” Jinhwan asks.  
Bobby’s mouth drops open in surprise. “Stay with you?” he repeats, uncertain.  
“Please?” asks Hanbin shyly, and that’s all the encouragement Bobby needs.  
“Yeah,” he says, and he smiles. “Yeah, okay.”

That night Hanbin sleeps sandwiched between Jinhwan and Bobby, and the three of them sleep so well that they all wake up late the next day.

*

Jinhwan treats Bobby to dinner a few days later as a thank you. Bobby doesn’t need any thanks, of course, but he’d never turn down a free meal.

“When he told me he had two bad nights in a row, I came back early.”  
Bobby sets the hamburger that had been halfway to his mouth down and slowly closes his mouth. “Oh.”  
“That doesn’t happen that often anymore, so I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”  
Bobby frowns at his plate. “I must have done something wrong.”  
“No,” Jinhwan says quickly. “No, Bobby, no, what the hell? You were perfect.”  
“But if he usually—”  
“He’s got some projects due soon,” Jinhwan says. “I think it got worse from the stress. He told me he had fun with you, and he said he’s really glad you could be with him because he didn’t know if he could stand someone else seeing him like that.”  
“Oh.” Bobby feels his face grow hot.  
“Thank you for understanding him.”  
Bobby looks back up at Jinhwan, and Jinhwan is smiling. “It was nothing, really,” he mumbles.  
“I’m so glad we met you. I’m so glad you’re our friend.”  
Bobby bites his lip then smiles back. “I’m glad you guys are mine.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hanbin, are you... scared?"

“Hey, Jinhwan, I wanna take Hanbin somewhere nice. Got any ideas?”  
Jinhwan looks up as Bobby plops himself down on the couch. “Like a restaurant?”  
“Nah, just like, somewhere he can relax. Somewhere pretty, with nature or whatever. You know how he likes that stuff.”  
“Hmm…”

Bobby watches as Jinhwan types “pretty nature” into Google and scrolls through the results. “Any particular reason?” he asks off-handedly as he tabs a few pages. Bobby shrugs. Hanbin has been overworking himself again, and Bobby doesn’t think Hanbin can last much longer like this. He’s worried, and he figures Jinhwan must be too. Hanbin needs a day to just be taken care of and not have to worry about anything. Jinhwan glances at Bobby and raises his eyebrows, but Bobby just shrugs again. “You know,” he says vaguely, and Jinhwan makes a knowing noise. “What about this?” he asks after a while. Bobby squints at the webpage. It’s for a butterfly conservation park, and there are some bird exhibits too. There’s a picture of a girl with six birds sitting on her arms and head, and immediately Bobby knows this is the place to go. Butterflies are pretty, and he for sure wants to see Hanbin with a bunch of birds flocking to him.

“This is perfect,” he says, and Jinhwan beams.

Jinhwan helps Bobby plan everything, from buying the tickets to helping get Bobby a reservation at a fancy restaurant downtown, so he’s just as excited for the big day as Bobby is. They blindfold Hanbin, who complains incessantly for the entire drive there and as he’s dragged up the walkway to the front of the park. But Bobby doesn’t want anything to be spoiled; he wants Hanbin to open his eyes to all of the lovely plants and flowers and the beautiful butterflies. He and Jinhwan stop right across from a little waterfall where a group of pretty black and blue butterflies are fluttering around a clump of dark purple flowers. Bobby pulls the blindfold off. 

“Surprise!” he cries happily.

Hanbin blinks, a dopey smile spreading across his face as he starts to mumble that they shouldn’t have. But the smile disappears, he freezes, and then with a strangled yelp he stumbles backward to fling his arms around Bobby’s neck and bury his face into Bobby’s shoulder. Startled, Bobby looks at Jinhwan, who shrugs. He’s just as mystified. “Are you crying?” Jinhwan asks Hanbin after a moment, poking his shoulder. Hanbin responds by whimpering and holding tighter to Bobby, who rubs his back placatingly. 

“Don’t cry,” Bobby soothes.  
“I’m not crying,” Hanbin grits out in a thin voice. He loosens his grip on the back of Bobby’s shirt and steps back a little. “I’m—”

At exactly that moment a monarch butterfly lands on Hanbin’s arm, and he chokes. He stares at it, wide-eyed, and just as Jinhwan starts to comment on how pretty it is, the butterfly starts walking up Hanbin’s arm. Hanbin shrieks, flailing his arms around, and squats on the ground, his arms covering his head. Bobby stares at him, mouth agape. Wait a minute…

“Hanbin, are you… scared?”  
“Of butterflies?” Jinhwan scoffs. “Seriously?”  
Bobby squats down beside Hanbin and places a hand on his shoulder. “Hanbin?”  
Hanbin waddles toward Bobby, nodding, and Bobby wraps his arms around him.   
Jinhwan’s jaw drops. “Wait, _seriously?_ ”  
“He’s not faking it,” Bobby says, frowning up at Jinhwan. “He’s literally shaking.”  
“Shit,” Jinhwan says, squatting down too. “Well this puts a damper on our plans.”

After several long, agonizing minutes of trying to coax Hanbin into standing up (during which they end up attracting a number of confused and/or dirty looks), Bobby and Jinhwan manage to get Hanbin on his feet again. His eyes are darting around, trying to follow the movements of every butterfly that flutters past, and he’s holding onto Bobby so tightly that Bobby is almost afraid Hanbin is going to rip his shirt. Hanbin is also walking so close to him that Bobby nearly trips every other step, and if he stops for too long, Hanbin actually sort of starts climbing onto him. Hanbin is terrified, but Bobby still can’t really wrap his mind around the fact that Hanbin is so afraid of _butterflies_ of all things.

Once they’re out of the park, Bobby steers Hanbin to a bench. The two of them sit, and Jinhwan stands in front of them, rocking backward and forward on the balls of his feet. Hanbin is leaning against Bobby, his head in his hands, and Bobby has an arm around his shoulders. He’s rubbing Hanbin’s arm, trying to be as soothing as possible, until Hanbin finally takes a deep, shuddering breath and removes his hands from his face. Jinhwan tilts his head and nudges Hanbin’s foot with his own.

“Sorry,” Hanbin mumbles miserably. “I ruined the surprise you planned for me.”  
“Hey, no, c’mon,” Bobby says quickly, squeezing Hanbin’s arm. “You didn’t ruin anything.”  
“Why didn’t you tell us before you were so scared of butterflies?”  
“Because I thought you’d laugh at me, and—”

Hanbin stops talking immediately, all of his attention held by a butterfly that flits past them. He watches it fly off, abject terror written all over his face, and when it disappears from their sight, he shuts his eyes and swallows hard.

“And this happens,” he mutters. “And normally this is when people laugh, so go ahead, laugh away.”  
“I’d never laugh at you because of something like this,” Bobby says with a frown. “Hanbin, man, you gotta know that.”  
“I wouldn’t either,” Jinhwan adds. “Not if you were serious, which you obviously are.”  
Hanbin sniffles. “Thanks.”  
“But, um…” Jinhwan trails off awkwardly. “What made you so afraid of, er—can I say the name?”  
Hanbin snorts and rests his head against Bobby’s shoulder. “Yeah, you can say it. I dunno that there’s a real reason, at least not one I can think of, but I just hate the way they move, and...” He shudders, and Bobby holds tighter to him.  
“Hey, it’s fine, you’re fine, we’ll go,” Bobby says in a low voice. He kisses Hanbin’s temple, and Hanbin smiles weakly.  
“Yeah, lemme get us something on the way home,” Jinhwan says with a smile as he holds out his hand. Hanbin takes it and lets himself be pulled to his feet, and Bobby gets up after him.  
“Smoothies?” Bobby asks hopefully, and Jinhwan just grins at him.

*

“Sorry,” Hanbin says.

They’re all squashed together on the couch, a sappy romance movie playing in the background. Bobby had canceled dinner, and Jinhwan had gotten them all smoothies and ordered a pizza. Bobby had thought it would be better if they had a night in after Hanbin’s meltdown. He sets his smoothie down on the coffee table and frowns at Hanbin.

“Nah, man, I wanted to get you to relax a little and it completely backfired. My fault.”  
“But if I’d just told you—”  
“But you didn’t want to, and I totally get why. Now I know, and that’s that,” Bobby says firmly as he rubs Hanbin’s thigh.  
“It was really thoughtful of you, though,” Hanbin says softly, gazing at Bobby with his eyes full of love. “I know you were just trying to make me feel better, and I do feel pretty good now.”  
Jinhwan snorts. “Nice of you to try to make _us_ feel better.”  
At this Hanbin laughs, and he reaches over Bobby to poke Jinhwan’s cheek. “I’m serious. Just being with you guys is enough.”  
“Sap,” Jinhwan says, laughing.  
“Dork,” Bobby says as he kisses Hanbin’s cheek.

He still wants to do something nice for Hanbin—something nicer than pizza at the apartment, at any rate—but for now, this will just have to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wait, but, you _always_ have your keys."

Jinhwan trudges up the stairs to his apartment, hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie. It’s late, he’s tipsy, and Bobby has been singing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” in English nonstop for the past forty-five minutes. Jinhwan really does not have the patience for this. He stops outside the door and turns around, squinting at Hanbin and Bobby trailing behind him. Hanbin is sober (their designated driver), and he’s half-carrying, half-dragging a completely hammered Bobby down the hall. He stops next to Jinhwan, looks at the closed front door, and then frowns back at Jinhwan.

“You aren’t going to open the door?”  
“Seventy-two bottles of beer on the wall, seventy-two bottles of beer…” Bobby slurs into Hanbin’s shoulder.  
Jinhwan narrows his eyes. “I don’t have my keys.”  
“Wait, but, you _always_ have your keys.”  
“My bag got stolen, remember? I don’t have my keys, and I won’t get a spare till Tuesday.”  
“But you gave me the key to your car?”  
“Yeah, because I kept the spare in the house so it didn’t get stolen. But they’re sending me another later too.”  
Hanbin’s eyes widen. “I didn’t bring my keys. I just took the car key you gave me.”  
“Sixty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, sixty-nine bottles of… heh, sixty-nine—”  
“Bobby, shut _up,_ ” Jinhwan snaps. Bobby falls silent. “Check his pockets for his keys.”

Hanbin starts fishing through the pockets of Bobby’s jeans, which is difficult because he’s still trying to hold Bobby up, so Jinhwan mutters that he’ll do it and starts rifling through Bobby’s pockets himself. Bobby giggles, saying that if they want to play, they should wait till they get inside. Finally Jinhwan takes a step back and glares at Bobby, his hands on his hips.

“Bobby, where are your keys? And your wallet?”  
“I left my wallet at home,” Bobby says.  
“And your keys?”  
“Next to my wallet.”  
Jinhwan groans. “You’re telling me,” he says, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice, “that there are three people living in this apartment and all three of us have keys but that none of us brought our keys with us?”  
“But you always have the keys,” Hanbin and Bobby say in unison.  
Jinhwan whimpers. “My keys were _stolen!_ How come neither of you remembered?”

Hanbin shrugs half-heartedly, and Bobby blinks slowly for a moment before taking a deep breath and starting to sing again.

“Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…”

(They end up back at Chanwoo and Yunhyeong’s place, begging to be allowed to crash for the night. Chanwoo and Yunhyeong say they don’t mind as long as Bobby stops singing, which ends up being an ordeal that requires Hanbin to give up control of the television for a month and Jinhwan to let Bobby borrow his gaming chair for a week. Jinhwan ends up canceling his part of the deal the next day while they wait for the locksmith, however, by guilt-tripping both Hanbin and Bobby for forgetting their keys, and he gets them on dish duty and bathroom cleanup for the next three months. Needless to say, neither of them ever forgot their keys again.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanbin is sure Jinhwan is going to think they’d forgotten about his birthday for the second year in a row.

Hanbin is lounging on the couch eating some chips when Bobby bursts into the apartment. He looks frazzled. He throws his coat off and nearly trips over his own feet as he takes off his shoes. “Hanbin! Jinanie-hyung’s fucking keyboard is stuck at the post office!” Hanbin chokes on a chip. He and Bobby had both forgotten all about Jinhwan’s birthday last year, and this year, it seems like the present isn’t going to show up in time. If they have no presents ready for him, Hanbin is sure Jinhwan is going to think they’d forgotten about his birthday for the second year in a row.

“What’re we gonna do?” Bobby wails, running his hands distractedly through his hair.  
“All right, calm down, we gotta think,” Hanbin says, and Bobby drops beside him on the couch, chewing his thumbnail nervously. “What else were we talking about getting him?”  
Bobby frowns as he tries to remember. “Well, the new keyboard... Then I think it was shampoo or something…”  
“The lotion,” Hanbin says, and Bobby nods.  
“Right, right, that expensive brand he’s always whining about not feeling justified splurging on.”  
“Well, if we act fast, maybe we can go out and get the lotion so we can at least give him something—”

Hanbin stops talking at the sound of keys turning in the lock. He and Bobby look at each other and then at the door. Jinhwan walks in, his nose pink from the cold. He hangs his coat up and walks into the living room. “Bobby, how many times have I told you to lock the door after you come home?” Bobby mutters an apology, and Jinhwan narrows his eyes at the two of them. “What?” he asks, and Hanbin shakes his head, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Jinhwan shrugs and walks off toward his room. “Okay, you go out now and I’ll distract him,” Hanbin says in an urgent whisper. Bobby nods, gets his coat and shoes back on as quietly as he can, and leaves the apartment. Hanbin hopes Bobby has enough sense to get the lotion wrapped.

Hanbin jogs to Jinhwan’s room and manages to intercept him while he’s washing his hands. He gives Hanbin another suspicious look. “You’re freaking me out.” He walks out of his bathroom, but Hanbin grabs him and pushes him onto the bed. “Aren’t you tired?” Hanbin half-shouts. Jinhwan breathes out a sigh through his nose and looks very much like he’s praying for someone to give him the strength to deal with Hanbin right now. He shuts his eyes. “Hanbin,” he says in a carefully controlled voice, “it’s two o’clock in the afternoon.” He gets up and tries to leave, but Hanbin blocks the door.

“Okay then, wanna fuck?”  
Jinhwan glares at him. “Not particularly, no.” He tries to push past Hanbin. “Seriously, what’s your problem?”

Hanbin’s problem is that he has no idea how he can keep Jinhwan distracted long enough for him not to notice Bobby isn’t around. Aside from sex or a nap, Hanbin doesn’t really have a lot of ideas because pretty much all he does himself is sleep and have sex. He definitely needs more hobbies. 

“Well?” Jinhwan asks impatiently.  
“Um,” Hanbin says eloquently. Jinhwan rolls his eyes.  
“Whatever. Get out of the way.”

Hanbin steps aside (mostly because he’s afraid Jinhwan might actually punch him) and leans against Jinhwan’s doorframe. His phone vibrates in his pocket with a message from Bobby: _No luck at the beauty store nearby shud I try the mall??_ Hanbin chews his lip. He’s utterly failing at distracting Jinhwan. _Ye ill try to take him out txt u later_. Bobby sends a thumbs up emoji, and Hanbin shuffles to the kitchen. Jinhwan is leaning against the counter with a glass of water in one hand and his phone in another. He’s got his tongue between his teeth, and he seems deep in thought. Hanbin clears his throat, but Jinhwan doesn’t look up. 

“Wanna go ice skating?” Hanbin blurts out.  
Jinhwan glances at him, eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?”  
“Ice skating,” Hanbin repeats. “Let’s… go?”  
Jinhwan squints at Hanbin, as if he’s sizing up Hanbin’s possible motives. “All right,” he says after a moment. He looks around. “Where’s Bobby? Is he coming?”  
“He had to go out,” Hanbin says vaguely.  
“Hm,” Jinhwan says as he puts his cup in the sink. “I bet he did.”

Hanbin swallows nervously as Jinhwan slips by. He must know something is up, but Hanbin isn’t sure if he’s guessed the right reasons. He sends a quick text to Bobby ( _Going to the lake u kno the one meet us there_ ), and then runs to his room to put on decent clothes. When he comes out, Jinhwan is waiting for him on the couch. He smiles at Hanbin, who smiles back awkwardly. Why had his brain settled on ice skating? Of all things, he had to pick something that’s not only outside in the cold, but is also the one outdoor activity he’s the absolute worst at. But Jinhwan actually seems to be in a better mood now, and as they walk toward the park, he slips his hand into Hanbin’s. Maybe Hanbin can salvage the day after all.

When they get to the lake, the people there are mostly little kids and their parents, but there are some couples. Hanbin suddenly feels out of place, but he doesn’t have long to lament the fact that he’s going to be out-skated by a bunch of eight-year-olds because Jinhwan has dragged him onto the ice. Jinhwan and Bobby can both skate, of course they can, but all Hanbin can do is inch around the lake, clutching the fence for dear life. Jinhwan skates around by himself for a while, and Hanbin is grateful because that’s when Bobby decides to show up. He holds up a plastic bag gleefully, but his face falls when Hanbin chastises him for not getting the lotion wrapped. “Fuck, knew I was forgetting something.” Hanbin just rolls his eyes and tells Bobby to hide the lotion in his backpack. 

Jinhwan gets even happier when Bobby joins them on the lake. The two of them dart around, zooming past kids and scaring couples, but always stopping just short of being actual nuisances. Hanbin watches them, amused, but also a bit sad that his skating is too awful for him to be able to join in on the fun. He wants so much to be with them because it never feels right when it’s just one or two of them together. (That, and he’s sick of the pair of elementary school girls who keep flying past him, waiting for him to catch up, and then shooting off again in a fit of giggles as they stare openly and judge his pathetic attempts at skating.) So when Bobby and Jinhwan skate back over, both of them pink-cheeked and wearing broad smiles, and ask him if he’s ready to go, he declares that he’s more than ready.

There are some aunties nearby selling hot cocoa and giant cookies, so Bobby buys them all drinks and Hanbin buys them a cookie, and they find a bench to sit on. The bench is just big enough for them, but even so they’re squashed together. Hanbin likes it, though. He gives Bobby the cookie, and Bobby breaks off chunks and feeds them. The cookie is warm and gooey, and the cocoa is warm and sweet, and Hanbin feels warm and comfortable. Jinhwan is sandwiched between Hanbin and Bobby, and both of them have an arm around his shoulders. Bobby catches Hanbin’s eye over Jinhwan’s head while Jinhwan is distracted licking chocolate off his fingers, and he raises his eyebrows. _Time to unveil the lotion?_ Hanbin shrugs a shoulder. _Now’s as good a time as any._ Bobby removes his arm from Jinhwan’s shoulder to lean down to get the lotion from his backpack, and Jinhwan snorts when the plastic bag is dropped in his lap. 

“Ta-da!” Bobby sing-songs happily.  
“I hope you remembered to take out the receipt,” Jinhwan deadpans.  
Bobby’s face goes blank for a moment, and then he snatches the bag back. Hanbin groans. “Seriously, hyung, you had _one job._ ”  
Bobby at least has the decency to look sheepish as he stuffs the receipt into his coat pocket. “Sorry.”  
He gives the bag back to Jinhwan, who pulls the lotion out and coos. “I’ve had my eye on this for ages,” he says.  
“We know,” Hanbin says, laughing. “That’s why we got it for you.”

At this point Hanbin would have expected Jinhwan to retort, or give them each a kiss on the cheek, or try out the lotion, or do literally anything other than just hold the lotion in his lap and stare at it. Bobby nudges Jinhwan in the side, and Jinhwan wets his lips.

“I thought you guys forgot about me again.” 

Hanbin opens his mouth to argue, but Bobby shakes his head and looks pointedly at Jinhwan. Yeah. Better to let Jinhwan finish.

“I mean, I know you did, I know Bobby just went out to get this and Hanbin only brought me here so I wouldn’t notice. But…” He looks up finally, and Hanbin is surprised to find him misty-eyed. He sniffles. “But this was still really sweet of you, and I’m glad you guys at least tried to do something.”  
“Aw, hyung, we didn’t forget about you,” Hanbin says as Bobby scoops Jinhwan up into a bear hug and kisses his temple. “We really didn’t. The present we got you just didn’t get here on time.”  
“Yeah,” Bobby adds, “we just wanted to make sure we could still give you something but didn’t want you to think we forgot.”  
Jinhwan hides his face in Bobby’s chest. “Is that right?”  
“Yeah, and tonight—” Hanbin starts to say before he claps a hand over his mouth, wide-eyed. 

It’s Bobby’s turn to be cross as he glares at Hanbin. To try to make up for their failure last year, they had planned to cook Jinhwan a big romantic dinner as a surprise. Jinhwan peeks over his shoulder at Hanbin, suspicious. 

“Tonight what?” he asks.  
“Me and Hanbin were gonna cook you dinner,” Bobby says with a sigh. “Yunhyeong taught us how to make lasagna.”  
“We even got some of your favorite wine to go with it,” Hanbin adds.  
Jinhwan grabs both of their hands and gives them each a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” he mumbles shyly, touched.

Hanbin grins at Bobby over Jinhwan’s head and thinks that just maybe he and Bobby had gotten it right this year.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
